A taxi caught on fire while on the 59th Street early Saturday evening, as shown on this video taken on the Roosevelt Island tram. There were no injuries reported in connection with the fire, according to the FDNY.

The MTA has advised that from 9:45 PM Friday, June 13th to 5:00 AM Monday, June 16th, there will be no Queens-Bound F train service at the Roosevelt Island station. For service to Queens from Roosevelt Island, take the Q102 to Queens Plaza, E, M, R station where F train service is available, or, take the Manhattan- bound F train to 47-50th Sts. and transfer to a Queens bound F train. Please plan your travel accordingly and visit http://mta.info or call 511 for more information.

On Friday, June 13 from 7 AM until 12 PM, a large crane will be transported by barge to the Riverwalk Building 7 construction site. During this time, a section of the East Promenade to the west of the site will be closed to the public. Flag persons will be posted onsite to direct pedestrian traffic.

The crane

was lifted from the barge

and deposited inside the construction site.

As Hudson Related's Sara Willard explains:

The crane is for our superstructure/concrete contractors to complete the remaining floors at the building. We are currently on floor 14. We project to "top out" the floors in late July, by which the barge will be back to pick-up the crane.

After delivery of the crane, the barge headed back south on the East River passing underneath

the Queensboro Bridge.

The Crane was barged because it was too heavy to be transported over the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

RIRA reps will be at their Farmers Market Table again tomorrow seeking blood donors. RIRA President Jeff Escobar asks you to consider signing up to donate blood. According to Mr. Escobar:

... Another way to participate in renewing the fabric of our community is to be a donor in the 13th annual RIRA Blood Drive, which benefits the New York Blood Center. RIRA volunteers will be manning a donor sign-up table at the Farmer’s Market for four consecutive Saturdays beginning May 31, to sign up any and all who wish to participate. The Blood Drive will culminate with the actual donations on June 21, during the annual Roosevelt Island Day festivities. If you are able, please sign up to donate. You could save a life. And, as an incentive to those who may need a little persuasion to give, Scott Bobo of our own Main Street Sweets Shop has very kindly offered, with the presentation of your donor pledge card, a “two-scoops for the price of one” offer....

RIRA's Russell Fields reports that 43 Roosevelt Island Blood Donors have already signed up. You can sign up tomorrow (Saturday, June 14) at the Farmers Market or online here.

Open to the public three days a week: Friday - Sunday, through Sunday, September 21

Featuring food vendors and Roosevelt Island's own retailers

The perfect hotspot for New Yorkers to bask in the summer sunshine and savor local city bites, while taking in the views of Manhattan's east side

Call to action:
Hudson Companies Inc. and Related Companies LP invite all food vendors and retailers interested in participating in the activation of Eleanor’s Pier to contact us for more information. Please email Deirdre Purdy
at Deirdre@austeragency.com or call at 718.243.1414.

Do you have any food vendor and retailer suggestions to give Hudson Related for Eleanor's Pier? This is my suggestion that I sent to Mr. Kramer:

Please, Please, Please try to get this LIC Flea Vendor who sells General Tso's Chicken Po Boys to the Eleanor Pier this summer.

Thursday June 12, contractors will remove a damaged tree located to the west of 465 Main Street. Main Street and the adjacent sidewalk will be closed to pedestrians and traffic between 475 Main Street and 455 Main Street from 8 AM and 2 PM. Signs and workers will be posted to redirect direct foot and vehicle traffic.

Sincerely,

Roosevelt Island Operating Corp Advisories Group

Here's what the damaged tree looked like

Image From Rebecca Knell

last Monday.

I asked RIOC if they knew what caused the damage to the tree. Have not heard back yet but will update if any new information.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver admonished and severely reprimanded Kellner after an Assembly ethics committee accused him of “unwanted and inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature” toward two female members of his staff....

The Assembly Ethics and Guidance Committee has issued a letter recommending further sanctions against Assemblymember Micah Kellner after investigating allegations that he violated the terms of my December 30, 2013 Letter of Admonition. Specifically, the Committee found that Assemblymember Kellner violated my order not to have interns in his office, attempted to obstruct a climate survey mandated by the Letter of Admonition and engaged in additional sexual harassment beyond the matters that were the subject of the 2013 investigation.

Because of these most recent findings, I am implementing the recommendations of the Committee in full. I have directed Assemblymember Kellner's Albany and district offices be closed and his staff allocation reduced to zero by the end of June.

Also, consistent with the unanimous recommendation of the Committee on Ethics and Guidance, I hereby admonish and severely reprimand Assemblymember Kellner on behalf of the New York State Assembly and its members and declare that his conduct with respect to these matters violates the Assembly's policies on sexual harassment and is inconsistent with the standards of conduct to which Members of the Assembly should be held.

Assembly Member Kellner responds to the charges:

Speaker Silver's decision to close my offices is a classic example of the politics of personal destruction. Because I have exercised my right to appeal the sanctions he has imposed, an appeal in which the arbiter appointed by the Speaker has determined that I am entitled to due process and to see the evidence presented against me - a ruling that the Assembly has so far defied - new charges have now been trumped up against me.

It is no coincidence that these new and unsubstantiated accusations only came to light after Speaker Silver and the Ethics Committee were handed an overwhelming defeat by his own hand-picked hearing officer, Howard Levine, in the initial decision of May 12th on my appeal.

The Ethic Committee is grasping at these new allegations and its secret star chamber report as weapons to prejudice the appeals officer against me while simultaneously trying to get me to drop the appeal. The Assembly Ethics Committee's outside counsel both violated the Committee's requirement of confidentiality by revealing these new allegations to the hearing officer,who is not a party to them, as well as requesting I drop the appeal when he spoke to my attorney regarding these new allegations.

Shelly Silver created the game, he picked the players and set the rules, and now he is furious and embarrassed that he is losing - plain and simple.

What is most deplorable is that the Speaker continues to punish the residents of the Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island, first by withholding community grants for legitimate vetted organizations, and now by denying them the resources of my office, which assists New Yorkers from all walks of life every day.

... The legislative member items totaling thousands of dollars each that Silver froze were earmarked for a range of groups, including parent teacher associations, local parks, the Roosevelt Island Disabled Association and Orphans International America.

“I certainly hope that this is simply a bureaucratic mixup,” Kellner said. “I can’t believe the speaker would be so petty as to punish children, seniors and New Yorkers with disabilities.”...

I am appalled at the vindictiveness of Speaker Silver and, having known and worked with Assembly Member Kellner since he entered State politics, reject the charges mounted against him. Further, I have to wonder why Silver is withholding grants to organizations within the 76th AD, especially Roosevelt Island. Why are we being tarred with the same brush used against Micah?

Interior demolition and interior abatement are progressing well across the site. Interior demolition is complete in all but two buildings (Building B and E). The interior abatement crews are currently spread across four buildings. They have completed the abatement work on the Building C roof. The regulatory agencies that are involved in the project have requested that the contractor perform some additional work at this time in advance of structural demolition. As a result, small crews have remobilized and returned to Phase 1 (Building D and F).

The weather station has been removed from the roof of Building J. Consultants will soon begin to analyze the data to develop a comprehensive understanding of weather conditions and wind patterns at the site.

The transition to the new barging operator has been seamless. They have successfully made multiple trips to Roosevelt Island to remove waste and deliver empty containers. The next barge trip will likely take place late in the week of June 9th.

I asked Cornell NYC Tech Assistant Director of Government and Community Relations Jane Swanson:

Can you provide more specific reasons for the additional abatement work required by regulatory agencies that is referenced in Cornell Construction update....

Ms. Swanson replied:

There is a layer of asbestos-containing mastic on the inside face of the exterior masonry walls. We removed it safely in Building C, but left it intact in Buildings D and F, as we were considering an abatement methodology that included removing it as part of the exterior wall structural demolition. At this time, however, we have proposed an abatement methodology that requires removal of the mastic prior to structural demolition, so we intend to re-enter Buildings D and F to complete the removal of this interior mastic.

Air Quality Action Levels
Background corrected particulate concentration data from the site is compared to particulate action levels. This correction is calculated by subtracting the upwind concentration from the downwind concentration and provides the concentration of particulates being generated by site activities. The specific action levels and their response are as follows

Inclement Weather
Monitoring is not conducted during rain events as precipitation acts as a natural suppressant and prevents the migration of particulates. In addition, moisture can impact the accuracy of the data from the monitors.

More on the Cornell NYC Tech demolition and abatement process, including video describing plan in great detail, from this previous post.

Prior to the RIOC Board meeting, Mr. Farance sent an email to RIOC President Charlene Indelicato and others, including NY State Government officials, describing his objections to the RIRA $10 Thousand allocation. During the RIOC Board meeting, it was announced that the RIRA $10 Thousand allocation item was removed from the Agenda and not voted upon. RIOC did not confirm that the reason the RIRA allocation was taken off the Agenda was the letter from Mr. Farance.

The May 24 editorial of the Main Street Wire newspaper criticized Mr. Farance for sending the letter to RIOC and NY State Government officials expressing his view opposing the $10 Thousand RIOC allocation to RIRA. According to the Main Street Wire editorial with the headline "More Politics of Destruction":

Frank Farance is at it again – or still.

With his viewpoint rejected by an 18-1 vote at the May meeting of the Residents Association’s Common Council, but in his certainty that he was right and everyone else was wrong, he set out to destroy the good works of others – and apparently succeeded.

But Farance was wrong. Wrong to play the sore loser after the vote, wrong to attack his fellow Common Council members, wrong to broadcast his attack and accusations to State officials, and wrong in his basic assumptions....

... From the vantage point of a longtime observer of Farance, RIOC, and the RIRA Common Council, it now appears that Farance is expecting to leave the Island, and is quite willing to burn bridges and people on his way out the door....

Mr. Farance was also criticized at the June RIRA meeting by former RIRA President Ellen Polivy. Ms. Polivy, who resigned as RIRA President after failing to expel Mr. Farance from RIRA last February, appeared at the June RIRA Meeting Public Session. Ms. Polivy accused Mr. Farance of continuing to sabotage RIRA and encouraged RIRA members to renew efforts to expel Mr. Farance from RIRA. Ms. Polivy referred to Mr. Farance as the:

There was no reaction from the RIRA Common Council following Ms. Polivy's Public Session remarks.

Mr. Farance responds to some of his critics:

Sadly, the WIRE's reporting, editorials, journalistic standards, and ethics reach new lows. "The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated", i.e., Roosevelt Island is home for me and I have no plans on leaving. It seems Dick Lutz, lacking valid arguments, short on facts, and without basis, is left with the fabrication that I'm leaving the Island. One might have expected Lutz to do some fact-checking, but that didn't happen.

The WIRE has other problems, too. Did Lutz or Briana Warsing disclose that Sherie Helstien and Matt Katz (who also spoke at the RIOC meeting) are managers at the WIRE? Certainly any credible newspaper would disclose that kind of relationship among its supervisory staff and what is being reported. My sense is that Lutz waves off these complaints with "They're All Volunteers", as he's explained his Letters policy recently. The disclosure is important because we, as readers, can have a better understanding of the perspective (a potentially biased one) in the news being reported -- whether they are volunteers or not is irrelevant to journalistic integrity. Additionally, Ms. Warsing did not disclose that her husband was one of the Common Council members who voted for the faulty RIRA proposal. Again, it is important to disclose this kind of information because readers might be concerned about journalistic conflicts of interest and bias in the WIRE's reporting: favorable and consistent with her husband's position.

While the WIRE reported that I was concerned about a fraudulent RIRA proposal, the WIRE never reported the nature of the fraud -- I'm guessing that many of the WIRE's readers would have arrived at the same concerns, too. Why didn't the WIRE, at least, report what the actual concerns of the proposal? The WIRE's staff never contacted me about my position, and it seems that the WIRE was not interested in the nature of the complaints of fraud. The WIRE seemed more concerned about supporting its tired editorial narrative about Farance, Reid, and Chirivas ... and whitewashing any unpleasant news about Friends/Staff of the WIRE.

However the NYS Attorney General had enough interest in these concerns and has started an investigation with the NYS Inspector General. I look forward to their findings.

Unfortunately, the retaliation has started again in RIRA. RIRA has a new ethics committee, Chaired by Mickey Rindler. Rindler seems more interested in having anonymous RIRA Common Council members slip in last-minute provisions in the RIRA Code Of Ethnics (which will be used to expel people from RIRA at an even quicker pace), and Rindler improperly collected votes outside of the meeting's discussion. What were those last minute provisions? In essence, those anonymous RIRA Common Council members wanted to make sure that anyone reporting RIRA misconduct outside of RIRA can be expelled. Maybe Rindler should focus more upon fixing the ethics problems within RIRA rather than looking for more reasons to expel people who report ethics concerns.

For RIOC President Indelicato, a former Westchester politician, feigns ignorance of State procurement procedures: "It was my fault, the procurement process was not right". Well when you have a 501c4 lobbying organization (RIRA) that is involved in legislation that affects your NYS Public Authority, can Indelicato tell us what the right process is for that lobbying organization to merely say "Services Rendered For Doing Good Stuff In The Past" and get money from the government? It's not just Westchester, or New York State -- I can't think of any place in the US were we'd allow this whimsical Services Rendered as a basis for legitimate government procurement. RIRA Vice President Sherie Helstien is still touting the advantages of this RIOC money: We Can Co-Mingle It With RIRA Funds. Organizations doing legitimate work don't talk this way.

Also, Indelicato is inconsistent with her procurement criteria. She can explain all the procurement hurdles for RIRA's efforts to get Air Quality monitoring for the Island, but for others (the RI Royalty) saying the magic words "Services Rendered" gets money flowing from RIOC. Certainly RIRA's proposal (as presented by another organization) would have never passed muster in its Public Purpose Grant allocations process. I seems that Indelicato, as an executive, favors the Dinosaur Brains approach towards decision-making: it's more important, in a primal way, to sniff out who is Friend and Foe and give money to your Friends, and put up roadblocks for your Foe's legitimate proposals.

Lastly, I'd like to correct the WIRE's perception that I have more power than the Governor. Nope, I don't. But Truth has more power than politicians, and that was one of the founding principles of our country.

Mr. Farance later clarified his comments regarding Mr. Rindler:

Since my letter was circulated within the Common Council, Mickey Rindler has changed his position on accepting "late" votes (he withdrew the late vote). It is exactly this kind of behavior (Mr. Rindler's) that is curbed by transparency, which Mr. Rindler opposes. Still Mr. Rindler persisted in the next Ethnics Committee meeting: he still wanted the provision (making RIRA Common Council members' actions public as a kind of "misconduct") put into the Code Of Ethics, so it would be declared misconduct for expulsion proceedings.

In essence, these rules are used to punish Common Council members who have opinions the majority does not like. If a resident (who is a RIRA member) were to do the same behavior (e.g., report to their neighbors what was heard at a Common Council meeting or RIRA committee meeting), they would not be punished. RIRA's enforcement has been selective and only against certain Common Council members.

And ditto for the Roosevelt Islander Blog: In Matt Katz's term as RIRA President, RIRA approved a policy that the RIRA agenda package could not be published, i.e., we are prohibited from sharing positions and proposed motions to our constituents until AFTER they are voted upon them. Thus, when RIRA is about to do something poor/wrong/bad, we Common Council members can get expelled from letting our neighbors know about it (so they might come to the RIRA Common Council meeting to complain in the public session). Yeah, Matt Katz's not-so-brilliant idea for quashing the minority's opinions, and making much of RIRA secret before decision-making.

Mr. Rindler makes this even worse by suggesting that people should paraphrase what someone is proposing but not reveal to our neighbors what the actual person's position/proposal/statement is. Why? Because, according to Mr. Rindler, it would allow the author of the faulty/problematic position/proposal/statement to deny that he/she said it.

Mr. Rindler has a terrible sense of ethics as it applies to RIRA practices and policies. It requires constant vigilance to keep track of these misguided and damaging ideas. The Ethics Committee, under Mr. Rindler, is not about transparency and fairness, it is about creating a framework for an express path to expulsion for Common Council members who have unpopular opinions.

I asked those mentioned by Mr. Farance if they cared to respond. None did other than Mr. Rindler who replied:

I am honored to be counted among the pantheon of civic leaders that Mr. Farance has attacked for trying their best to serve this community.

The narrow island of Manhattan, located between the Hudson River and the East River, is a familiar feature to crews on the International Space Station. The ragged line of shadow cast by the Palisades cliff (in New Jersey) crosses the bottom of the image. Wharves jut into the rivers; bridges are visible thanks to the shadows they cast; and the grid pattern of major streets stands out. On Manhattan itself, the main visual features are Central Park (with playing fields appearing as white dots) and two darker zones where the tallest buildings of Midtown and the Financial District cast long shadows even in this early afternoon view....

Monday, June 9, 2014

I've been out of town for a week and came back to see a massive tree limb torn away from one of the maple trees on the Southtown lawn near the subway station. Does anyone know what happened? There is a big black section in the wood at the point where the branch tore away. Is it some kind of illness or interior rot that caused the damage? Lightning?

Rebecca Knell shares picture of the damaged tree

and reports:

Oh dear, poor tree.

Another reader asks:

There is a huge branch of the tree down on the way to the subway. Practically, a tree. I hope nobody got hurt. Is there any info?

As the coolness of spring passes into the heat of summer, life on our little ship in the East River rolls forward. Open doors and windows are replaced by lulling fans and active air conditioners, family dinners around the kitchen table are now family barbecues around the picnic table, and our Island children no longer spend their days hard at work in class, but are hard at playing outside. From Saturday Night movies at Firefighters Field to Youth Baseball practice and pool parties, life on Roosevelt Island blooms fully into an idyllic picture of what summer should be in the middle of our sometimes crazy city.

As a kick-off to summer, I encourage all to attend this year’s Roosevelt Island Day on Saturday, June 21, for a day of family fun, games, rides, and more. Not only does Roosevelt Island Day allow us to come together and strengthen the bonds that make us a community, to meet neighbors old and new, and to have another excuse to be outdoors, but it is also a day when you, as a resident, can give back to the Island. Sometimes, in the fun and hoopla, it can be forgotten that Roosevelt Island Day was originally created as a day of Island service and beautification; a day when anyone and everyone is encouraged to pick up a shovel and plant new flowers and seedlings throughout the Island, to clean up and take care of Island areas that need attention, and to generally come together as a community to make this Island a more clean and beautiful place to live, work, and play. Interested in being a volunteer or want to help out? All you need to do is show up on Roosevelt Island Day and raise your hand, and you’ll be given a t-shirt and a task. We hope to see all of you there. Make sure that you come by the RIRA Hospitality Table early that morning to get some coffee and bagels for fortification.

In conjunction with Roosevelt Island Day and its theme of service to the community, RIRA continues to hold its annual Blood Drive at the Farmer’s Market, every Saturday through Roosevelt Island Day. If planting and repairing are not your fortes, but you still want to give back to our community, then consider signing up to give blood. It takes only a little to help so many.

Lastly, during July and August, the Common Council takes its summer hiatus to reset and make plans for the upcoming year of Council sessions. Because this is an election year, the tasks to be accomplished during the summer months are especially multiplied. Please take this time to reach out to your building representative, to voice concerns or goals that you wish for him/her to undertake in the upcoming sessions, and to ask any and all questions you may have. The success of the Common Council depends very much on each of you, as the community, to let the building representatives know what they can do to better serve you and the community. And, if you are interested in taking a seat at the Common Council table, please let your building representatives know, or contact me at president@riraonline.com. Elections and campaigning begin in earnest in the fall, and we look forward to welcoming the new Council.

Mr. Escobar continues to do an outstanding job presiding over the RIRA Common Council meetings.

Reported last week on the clean up of the Roosevelt Island AVAC garbage compound by the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC) together with local building staff and the NYC Department of Sanitation. Today RIOC is starting a clean up

Image of Motorgate Atrium Entrance

of the Roosevelt Island Motorgate Atrium.

Image Of Motorgate Atrium Interior

According to the Roosevelt Island Operating Corp (RIOC):

Beginning next Monday, June 9th at 8:30 AM, the Atrium of the Motorgate Parking Garage (628 Main St.) will undergo a power washing. This work is scheduled to be completed on or before Friday, June 13th. Sections of the Atrium will be temporarily closed to the public while the work is being performed. Use of the Atrium's elevators will not be affected.

Would you be interested in East River kayaking from Roosevelt Island? The Long Island City Community Boat House members are interested in taking Roosevelt Islanders out on the East River for Kayaking trips. I have spoken to several Roosevelt Islanders who are interested. If you are too, let me know.

Here's more on the Long Island City Community Boat House East River kayaking.

Let's get in the East River - but in a Kayak of course.

The Roosevelt Island Twitterverse shows more boats passing by us today:

Recent Reader Comments

Recent Comments

Total Pageviews For Last 7 Days Via Blogger

WELCOME TO ROOSEVELT ISLAND

Welcome to the Roosevelt Islander Online!

Roosevelt Island is a mixed income, racially diverse waterfront community situated in the East River of New York City between Manhattan and Queens and is jurisdictionally part of Manhattan. The Roosevelt Island Tramway, which connects Roosevelt Island to the rest of Manhattan, has become the iconic symbol of Roosevelt Island to its residents.

The Purpose of this Blog is to provide accurate and timely information about Roosevelt Island as well as a forum for residents to express opinions and engage in a dialogue to improve our community.